Following the announcement by Undersheriff Timothy Torp that he would be retiring from his 45-year-long law enforcement career at the end of the year, the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Office has been busy trying to find someone to fill the big shoes he will leave.
Torp began his law enforcement career while in the Air Force, transferring to a civilian position in 1977 when he became a corrections deputy. Since then, he has served as a Road Deputy, Drug Task Force Investigator, Road Patrol Sergeant, and Lieutenant/Jail Administrator, only leaving the sheriff’s office from 2003 to 2015 to serve as Deckerville’s Chief of Police before returning once more to the office as a Deputy/Court Officer.
Following Sheriff Paul Rich’s election in 2020, Rich named Torp as his undersheriff, with Rich saying that he was honored that Torp was his undersheriff for the past two years. But even in retirement, Officer Torp will be at the sheriff’s office in some capacity, switching to a part-time deputy position and assisting the department with security studies around the community.
Stepping into the position Torp is leaving will be Lieutenant Nathan Smith, who spent the past 22 years of his 25 years in law enforcement with the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Department. In several different roles through the years, Smith served as a Uniform Services Deputy, Sergeant, Drug Task Force Investigator, K-9 Handler, Detective/Sergeant and Uniform Services Division Lieutenant.
Other promotions brought on by this responsibility shift include Uniform Services Division Lieutenant and the Uniform Services Division Sergeant, promoting Sergeant Michael Moore and Deputy Joshua Horst to those respective positions.
